Mining shovel with compositional sensors

ABSTRACT

A mining shovel with compositional sensors comprises a bucket having various inward looking sensors positioned throughout the bucket. The bucket can also have disposed thereon a control enclosure that houses processing equipment that receives and analyzes the data collected by the inward looking sensors. The mining shovel with compositional sensors can be used as part of a system to manage a mining field, including generating and transmitting instructions directing where to deposit material located in the bucket based on the data collected from the inward looking sensors positioned in the bucket.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/027,144, filed Jul. 21, 2014, entitled“Mining Shovel With Compositional Sensors”, which is hereby incorporatedby reference for all purposes in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

In the field of mineral sorting, sorting machines generally comprise asingle stage of sensor arrays controlling (via, e.g., micro controlleror other digital control system) a matched array of diverters.

Sensors used in mineral sorting can be of diverse origin, includingphotometric (light source and detector), radiometric (radiationdetector), electromagnetic (source and detector or induced potential),or more high-energy electromagnetic source/detectors such as x-raysource (fluorescence or transmission) or gamma-ray source types. Matchedsensor/diverter arrays are typically mounted onto a substrate (e.g.,vibrating feeder, belt conveyor, free-fall type), which substratetransports the material to be sorted past the sensors and thus on to thediverters where the material is diverted to either one of twodestinations, ‘accept’ or ‘reject’.

Sorting is typically undertaken by one or more high-efficiency machinesin a single stage, or in more sophisticated arrangements, such asrougher/scavenger, rougher/cleaner, or rougher/cleaner/scavenger.Material to be sorted is typically metallic mineral material between 15mm-200 mm in size, although finer and coarser materials can be sortedwith smaller or larger machines as the case may be.

Sorter capacity is limited by several factors, including microcontroller speed, belt or feeder width, and a typical requirement to a)segregate the feed over a limited particle size range, and b) separateindividual particles in the feed from each other prior to sorting toensure high efficiency separation. A new type of sorting with higheffectiveness in the mining industry comprises in-mine batch mineralsensing and classification. However, further advancements are stillneeded before such in-mine batch sorting devices can be successfullyoperated in the field.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described and explainedthrough the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a mining shovel bucket having inwardlyfacing sensors positioned thereon in accordance with various embodimentsdescribed herein;

FIG. 2 is a schematic illustration of a sensor array in accordance withvarious embodiments described herein;

FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of a mining sensing and sortingsystem in accordance with various embodiments described herein;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a method of sensing and sorting miningmaterial in accordance with various embodiments described herein;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of power and in accordance withvarious embodiments described herein;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a basic and suitable computer that mayemploy aspects of the various embodiments described herein; and

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a simple, yet suitable system inwhich aspects of the various embodiments described herein may operate ina networked computer environment.

The drawings have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, thedimensions of some of the elements of the figures may be expanded orreduced to help improve the understanding of the embodiments of thepresent application. Similarly, some components and/or operations may beseparated into different blocks or combined into a single block for thepurposes of discussion of some of the embodiments of the presentapplication. Moreover, while the disclosure is amenable to variousmodification and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been showby way of example in the drawings and are described in detail below. Theintention, however, is not to limit the disclosure to the particularembodiments described. On the contrary, the disclosure is intended tocover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling withinthe scope of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Disclosed herein are various embodiments of mining shovel a miningshovel with composition sensors, methods of sorting material using amining shovel with compositional sensors, and systems incorporating amining shovel with compositional sensors. In some embodiments, themining shovel comprises a bucket having various inward looking sensorspositioned throughout the bucket. The inward looking sensors can includeone or more in-cheek sensors positioned on a side wall of the bucketand/or one or more downward looking sensors positioned on an upper wallportion of the bucket. The bucket can also have disposed thereon acontrol enclosure used for housing various processing equipment thatreceives and analyzes the data collected by the inward looking sensors.In some embodiments, the processing equipment is used to identify thechemical composition of the material located in the bucket of the miningshovel.

In some embodiments, the mining shovel with compositional sensors ispart of a system used in field operations to direct where materiallocated in the bucket should be transported. In addition to the bucketdescribed above, the system can include additional signal processingequipment located remote from the bucket, such as in the chassis of themining shovel, and communications links between the signal processingequipment in the bucket and the signal processing equipment in thechassis. In this manner, data can be relayed from the bucket to thechassis, where, for example, further data analysis can be carried out.The system can further include an operator's enterprise resourceplanning (ERP) system, a fleet management system, and/or communicationslinks for transmitting information between all of the components of thesystem. In some embodiments, predetermined values relating toidentification of material composition is stored in a database that ispart of the ERP system, such that data transmitted to the ERP systemfrom the bucket and/or chassis can be compared against the database tomatch patterns and thereby identify material composition. Once materialcomposition is identified, signals can be sent from the ERP system tothe fleet management system so that a determination of where totransport the material in the bucket can be made. The decision made bythe fleet management system can subsequently be communicated to, forexample, a local display located in the chassis of the mining shovel sothat a shovel operator can deposit the bucket material in theappropriate location.

In some embodiments, a method of in-mine sensing and classificationgenerally includes sensing material in a mining shovel bucket using oneor more inward facing sensors positioned in the bucket and transmittingthe data obtained from sensing the material to signal processingequipment. The method can further include identifying the composition ofthe material by processing the data with signal processing equipment.Once identified, the method can further includes transmitting aninstruction of where to transport the bucket material, such as to amining shovel operator. Destination instructions can also be sent to ahaul truck which receives the material from the mining shovel.

Various embodiments will now be described. The following descriptionprovides specific details for a thorough understanding and enablingdescription of these embodiments. One skilled in the art willunderstand, however, that the invention may be practiced without many ofthese details. Additionally, some well-known structures or functions maynot be shown or described in detail, so as to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring the relevant description of the various embodiments.

The terminology used in the description presented below is intended tobe interpreted in its broadest reasonable manner, even though it isbeing used in conjunction with a detailed description of certainspecific embodiments of the invention. Certain terms may even beemphasized below; however, any terminology intended to be interpreted inany restricted manner will be overtly and specifically defined as suchin this Detailed Description section.

With reference to FIG. 1, a mining shovel bucket 110 generally includesa first side wall 111 a, a second side wall 111 b opposite the firstside wall 111 a, an upper wall portion 112 a, a lower wall portion 112 bopposite the upper wall portion 112 a, and a back wall portion 113. Thefirst side wall 111 a, second side wall 111 b, upper wall portion 112 a,lower wall portion 112 b, and a back wall portion 113 generally definean interior volume of the bucket 110 into which material can be scoopedand held. The bucket 110 may generally be any type of bucket suitablefor use in mining shovel operations, including buckets of varyingshapes, sizes, and materials.

The mining shovel bucket further includes one or more sensors, such asan in-cheek sensor 100 on the first side wall 111 a and an in-cheeksensor 105 on the second side wall 111 b. Each in-cheek sensor 100, 105faces towards the interior volume so that material within the interiorvolume can be subjected to sensing by the sensors 100, 105. The in-cheeksensors 100, 105 can be any type of sensor suitable for use in analyzingand collecting data on mining material that can subsequently be used indetermining the composition of the mining material. Suitable sensorsinclude, but are not limited to radiometric, photometric, andelectromagnetic sensors. While FIG. 1 shows one in-cheek sensor per sidewall, the bucket may include any number of in-cheek sensors. In someembodiments, only a single in-cheek sensor is provided on one side wall,while the other side wall does not include an in-cheek sensor. In someembodiments, only one side wall includes an in-cheek sensor, butincludes more than one in-cheek sensor. In some embodiments, both sidewalls include more than one in-cheek sensor. In some embodiments, eachside wall includes the same number of in-cheek sensors, while in someembodiments, the side walls include a different number of in-cheeksensors. The in-cheek sensors may all be the same type of sensor, or thein-cheek sensors can be any combination of different types of sensors.

Alternatively or additionally, the mining shovel bucket further includesat least one down looking sensor 120 positioned on the upper wallportion 112 a. The down looking sensor 120 is positioned to face towardthe interior volume so that material within the interior volume can besubjected to sensing by the down looking sensor 120. The down lookingsensor 120 can be any type of sensor suitable for use in analyzing andcollecting data on mining material that can subsequently be used indetermining the composition of the mining material. Suitable sensorsinclude, but are not limited to radiometric, photometric, andelectromagnetic sensors. While FIG. 1 shows a single down-looking sensorpositioned at a forward portion of the upper wall portion 112 a, thebucket may include any number of down looking sensors arrangedthroughout the upper wall portion 112 a. In some embodiments, the bucketincludes a down looking sensor 120 in a forward position of the upperwall portion 112 a as shown in FIG. 1, as well as a down looking sensor120 in an aft position of the upper wall portion 112 a (i.e., proximatewhere the upper wall portion 112 a contacts the back wall portion 113.When multiple down looking sensors are included, the sensors may all bethe same type of sensor, or may be any combination of different types ofsensors. While not shown, if the material of the mining shovel bucketinterferes with operation of the sensors (e.g., as might happen withcertain type of metals), the sensors may be mounted inside of thebucket, and have formed thereon a ruggedized, non-metallic layer, suchas one of vulcanized rubber or other rugged, non-conductive elastomericmaterial.

With continuing reference to FIG. 1, the bucket 110 may include acontrol enclosure 140. The control enclosure may be mounted on anyexterior surface of the bucket 110. As shown in FIG. 1, the controlenclosure 140 is mounted on a top exterior surface of the bucket 110.The size, shape, and material of the enclosure 140 is generally notlimited, and typically selected such that it can safely accommodate andprotect the various equipment that can reside therein.

The control enclosure 140 can house a wide variety of equipment used incarrying out the sensing of mining material loaded in the interiorvolume of the bucket 110. In some embodiments, the enclosure 140 housessignal processing equipment. The signal processing equipment isgenerally used to receive signals from the sensors 100, 105, 120 andpartially or fully process the signals to identify the composition ofthe material loaded in the bucket. The enclosure 140 can also housecommunications components suitable for use in transmitting signals fromthe bucket to locations remote to the bucket (for example, the chassisof the mining shovel, remote stations on the mining operation field,etc.). Any suitable communication components can be used to transmitsignals from the bucket to a remote location. In some embodiments, thecommunications components housed in the enclosure 140 are wirelesscommunications components for wireless delivering signals to remotelocations. The enclosure 140 can further house sensor electronics thatare part of sensors 100, 105, 120, as well as power components (e.g.,batteries) needed to power the various sensors, signal processingequipment, communication components, etc.

With reference to FIG. 3, a system 300 incorporating the bucket withcompositional sensors described above and suitable for use in sensingand classifying mining material is illustrated. The system 300 generallyincludes a mining shovel 302 comprising a bucket 110 as described abovein FIG. 1 and a chassis 303, a mine operator's enterprise resourceplanning (EPR) system 370, and a mine fleet management system 380.

The mining shovel 302 is generally any type of mining shovel suitablefor use in the excavation of mining material in a field operation. Themining shovel 302 can be, for example, a wire rope type or a hydraulicexcavator type mining shovel. In addition to including the bucket 110having interior volume facing sensors 100/105/120, the mining shovel 302also includes a chassis 303. The chassis 303, amongst other things,includes an operator's cabin where an operator controls the miningshovel 302.

As shown in FIG. 3, the bucket 110 can be incorporated with the miningshovel via, for example, fiber optic communication cable 325, powersupply cable 330, and wireless data communication 340, all of which arespecifically incorporated with the various equipment included within thecontrol enclosure 140. The fiber optic communication cable 325 and/orthe wireless data communication 340 can be used to communicate betweenthe processing equipment within the control housing 140 and additionalprocessing equipment located remote from the bucket 110. For example, asshown in FIG. 3, the chassis 303 includes an enclosure 350 that mayhouse any additional processing equipment needed for the purpose ofprocessing and analyzing data collected by the sensors 100/105/120 thatis not present in the control housing 140. In some embodiments, theprocessing equipment need for processing and analyzing signals from thesensors 100/105/120 is divided amongst the various housings due to spaceconstraints, power demands, system optimization, etc. When communicationbetween the equipment within the control housing 140 and the equipmentwithin the enclosure 350 is carried out wirelessly, the chassis 303 canfurther include a wireless node 360 for receiving wireless transmissionfrom the wireless data communication 340. The wireless node 360 can alsobe used to communicating data processed within the enclosure 350 toother parts of the system 300.

In some embodiments, data processed within the enclosure 350 and/or thecontrol housing 140 is transmitted to a mine operator's enterpriseresource planning (ERP) system 370 located remote from the mining shovel(such as in trailers set up at mining operations for various logisticalrequirements). ERP systems are generally used in mining operations tohelp ensure that mining material is directed to the appropriatedestination based on a variety of variable conditions (e.g., commodityprices). For example, in some embodiments, ERP systems can be used tohelp direct higher quality mining material to product streams whencommodity prices are low, while directing medium and lower qualitymining material to waste or holding piles. Conversely, the ERP systemcan be used to help direct higher and medium quality mining material toproduct streams when commodity prices are high, while directing lowquality mining material to waste or holding piles.

The ERP system 370 can include a wireless transceiver for receiving datafrom the processing equipment in the enclosure 350 and/or controlhousing 140 and subsequently transmitting additional information on toother parts of the system 300. In some embodiments, the ERP system 370is specifically used to carry out the part of the data processing inwhich data from the shovel (which may be raw data or pre-processed data)is compared against predetermined values stored in a short range mineplan database that is part of the ERP system. The remotely located ERPsystem is well suited for such a database due to logistical issuespreviously noted, such storage capacity and processing demands which aredifficult to meet in the smaller, remotely located enclosure 350 and/orhousing 140. Once the database and ERP system have been utilized to makea final determination as to material composition within the bucket, theERP system can subsequently be used to transmit this information toother parts of the system 300. In some embodiments, the wirelesstransceiver 365 is used in conjunction with a mine operators network 375to transmit the information throughout the system 300.

The system 300 can further include a fleet management system 380 used tomanage mine operations specifically with respect to mine shoveloperation and the various trucks used on site to transport material.Fleet management systems are generally used to help direct the movementof one or more mining shovels and one or more fleet trucks within aspecific mining operation to help maximize operation of the miningoperation. For example, in a mining operation where more than one miningmaterial is being recovered, a mining shovel having a bucket full ormaterial found to include more of a first material than a secondmaterial can be directed to deposit the material in a specific haultruck via the fleet management system. The fleet management system cansubsequently direct the haul truck to specific location based on thecontents previously deposited therein.

In some embodiments, the information generated by the ERP system withrespect to the composition of the material in the bucket 110 istransmitted to the fleet management system 380 so that a determinationas to where the material in the bucket 110 should be deposited. In ascenario where the material in the bucket 110 has been determined to beof a desirable composition, the fleet management system 380 can be usedto direct the material to be deposited in a haul truck used fortransporting desirable material to a desired location (e.g., storage orfurther processing). In a scenario where the material in the bucket 110has been determined to be waste material, the fleet management system380 can be used to direct the material to be deposited in a haul truckused for transporting waste material to a specific location or to directthe mining shovel operator to directly deposit the waste material in anearby waste pit or on a nearby waste pile.

To further facilitate these types of directions, the system may furtherinclude a local display 395 in the mining shovel chassis 303. The fleetmanagement system 380 having made a determination as to where thematerial in the bucket 110 should be deposited can transmit directionsto the local display 395 (e.g., such as through wireless communications)in the chassis 303. The mining shovel operator can subsequently use thedirections provided on the local display 395 to make the correctoperations with respect to transporting and depositing the material inthe bucket 110. Similarly, the system can further include a localdisplay 398 in the cabin of a haul vehicle 399 used on site. Similarinformation as to what is delivered to the local display 395 in themining shovel chassis 303 can be delivered to the haul truck 399 via thelocal display 398 so that the operator of the haul truck 399 can bothmake the haul truck 399 available to the mining shovel 302 fordepositing material and get information on where to transport thematerial once it is loaded on the haul truck 399.

As discussed above, the system 300 generally includes various signalprocessing equipment configured to receive and analyze data from thesensors 100/105/120 for the purpose of identifying the composition ofthe material in the bucket 110. With reference to FIG. 2, a system andmethod of analyzing the data according to various embodiments isillustrated. The system and method may begin by converting signals ofarbitrary waveform and frequency from the sensors 100/105/120 fromanalogue to digital using, for example, an analogue to digital signalconverter 210. Any analogue to digital converter suitable for convertinganalogue signals from the sensors to digital signals may be used. Insome embodiments, the sensors 100/105/120 produce digital signals in thefirst instance, in which case an analogue to digital signal converter210 may not be required in the system and method.

Once digital signals are available, the method and system can include astep of passing the digital signals to a Fourier Analysis stage. TheFourier Analysis stage can generally include using a field programmablegate array 220 to generate spectral data 230 of amplitude/frequency oramplitude/wavelength format via Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) implementedon the field programmable gate array 220. The arbitrary power spectra230 generated in the Fourier Analysis stage (via the field programmablegate array 220) are compared to previously determined and known spectra260, which may be stored in the short range mine plan databasereferenced above as being part of the ERP system 370. The comparisonbetween the generated power spectra 230 and the known spectra 260 can becarried out using a pattern matching algorithm 240 running on anembedded computer 250. The pattern matching algorithm 240 works torecognize arbitrary power spectra 230 that match the spectra of desiredmaterial based on the predetermined and known spectra of the desiredmaterial. The result of the matching algorithm 240 results in thegeneration and transmission of an instruction 270 by the embeddedcomputer 250. The instruction 270 can generally be an “accept”instruction or a “reject” instruction. When a match to the spectra ofdesirable material is made, “accept” instructions are generated. Whenthe algorithm 240 fails to make a match to the spectra of desirablematerial or a match to the spectra of undesirable material is made,“reject” instructions are generated. The accept or reject instruction270 can subsequently be sent to, for example, the fleet managementsystem 380 mentioned above with respect to FIG. 3 so that appropriatedirection can then be given to the mining shovel operator (via, e.g.,local display 395 in mining shovel chassis 303) and/or the haul truckoperator (via, e.g., local display 398 in haul truck 399). In someembodiments, the instructions 270 can be sent directly to the miningshovel operator and/or haul truck operator.

The performance of the steps described in FIG. 2 can be carried out inany combination of locations throughout the system 300 illustrated inFIG. 3. In some embodiments, the only step of the data analysis carriedout at the bucket 110 (i.e., within the control housing 140) is theconversion of the analogue signal to a digital signal. In suchembodiments, steps such as generating power spectra, comparing thearbitrary power spectra to known spectra, establishing matches betweenthe arbitrary power spectra and the known spectra, and generating andtransmitting accept or reject instructions may be carried out at, forexample, the chassis 303 (such as within the enclosure 350), the ERPsystem 370, and/or the fleet management system 380 in any combination.Alternatively, additional or all steps of the data analysis other thanconversion from analogue to digital signals are carried out at thebucket 110, in which case fewer or no data analysis steps are carriedout in the other locations of the system 300.

With reference now to FIG. 4, an illustrated method of carrying outsensing, classification, and sorting of mining material using the bucketwith compositional sensors described herein is shown. The methodgenerally begins with excavating a bench or stope of mineral material400 using a mining shovel or loader 410 including a bucket withcompositional sensors 110 as described herein. Once the bucket is loadedwith mining material, the sensors in the bucket 110 are used to sensethe material and gather data about the material loaded in the bucket110. The results of these measurements are conveyed to the mine planningsystem 440 (also referred to as the ERP system 370 in FIG. 3) via, e.g.,an on-shovel wireless communication node 430. Once received by the mineplanning system 440, the values from the bucket 110 are compared tostored values in the mine planning system 440 to find matches thatidentify the composition of the material. When a match to desirablematerial is made, instructions to accept the material in the bucket 110are conveyed to the fleet management/ore routing system 450 via, e.g., amine operators network or communications network. When a match todesirable material is not found, or when a match to undesirable materialis made, instructions to reject the material in the bucket 110 areconveyed to the fleet management/ore routing system 450.

From the fleet management system 450, instructions on where to deliverthe material based on the accept or reject instructions are transmittedto the shovel operator and/or haul truck operator. The shovel operatorreceiving an accept instruction may deliver the material either to ahaul truck that further transports the desired material to a specifiedlocation (e.g., a leach area 480), or directly to an area proximate themining shovel where desired material is being stored or processed (e.g.,the leach area 480). The shovel operator receiving a reject instructionmay deliver the material either to a haul truck that further transportsthe undesired material to a specified location (e.g., a dump area 480)or directly to an area proximate the mining shovel where undesiredmaterial is being stored (e.g., a dump area 480). Overall, the presentsystem integrates the sensor technology with the ERP system 370 andfleet management system 450 to thereby efficiently extract and processdesired minerals/materials from a mine or other location.

With reference now to FIG. 5, an implementation of various embodimentsof the mining shovel bucket described herein is shown. In cheek sensors500 and 505 are connected to an electronic data processor or ePC 510 fordigital processing of the sensor signals. Down looking sensors 515 and520 are connected to ePC 525 for digital processing of the sensorsignals. Signals from in-cheek sensors 500, 505, and down-lookingsensors 515, 520 are processed via ePC 525 where results are compared topredetermined spectra for evaluation. All operations of sensors, ePCs,and other ancillaries are controlled by PLC 540. AC power from chassisenclosure 550 is delivered by AC power cable 545. Backup power issupplied by battery 555, which can be recharged when offline from ACpower via inertial recharging system 565. Communication between thedipper mounted enclosure and chassis enclosure 550 is maintained byfibre optic ethernet link 570 as well as wireless communication 572.Wireless signals are received by wireless access point 577 and/or viaethernet link via switch 580. Power is supplied from shovel 590 tochassis enclosure 550 via AC power cable 585.

FIG. 6 and the following discussion provide a brief, general descriptionof a suitable computing environment in which aspects of the disclosedsystem can be implemented. Although not required, aspects andembodiments of the disclosed system will be described in the generalcontext of computer-executable instructions, such as routines executedby a general-purpose computer, e.g., a server or personal computer.Those skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that the variousembodiments can be practiced with other computer system configurations,including Internet appliances, hand-held devices, wearable computers,cellular or mobile phones, multi-processor systems, microprocessor-basedor programmable consumer electronics, set-top boxes, network PCs,mini-computers, mainframe computers and the like. The embodimentsdescribed herein can be embodied in a special purpose computer or dataprocessor that is specifically programmed, configured or constructed toperform one or more of the computer-executable instructions explained indetail below. Indeed, the term “computer” (and like terms), as usedgenerally herein, refers to any of the above devices, as well as anydata processor or any device capable of communicating with a network,including consumer electronic goods such as game devices, cameras, orother electronic devices having a processor and other components, e.g.,network communication circuitry.

The embodiments described herein can also be practiced in distributedcomputing environments, where tasks or modules are performed by remoteprocessing devices, which are linked through a communications network,such as a Local Area Network (“LAN”), Wide Area Network (“WAN”) or theInternet. In a distributed computing environment, program modules orsub-routines may be located in both local and remote memory storagedevices. Aspects of the system described below may be stored ordistributed on computer-readable media, including magnetic and opticallyreadable and removable computer discs, stored as in chips (e.g., EEPROMor flash memory chips). Alternatively, aspects of the system disclosedherein may be distributed electronically over the Internet or over othernetworks (including wireless networks). Those skilled in the relevantart will recognize that portions of the embodiments described herein mayreside on a server computer, while corresponding portions reside on aclient computer. Data structures and transmission of data particular toaspects of the system described herein are also encompassed within thescope of this application.

Referring to FIG. 6, one embodiment of the system described hereinemploys a computer 1000, such as a personal computer or workstation,having one or more processors 1010 coupled to one or more user inputdevices 1020 and data storage devices 1040. The computer is also coupledto at least one output device such as a display device 1060 and one ormore optional additional output devices 1080 (e.g., printer, plotter,speakers, tactile or olfactory output devices, etc.). The computer maybe coupled to external computers, such as via an optional networkconnection 1100, a wireless transceiver 1120, or both.

The input devices 1020 may include a keyboard and/or a pointing devicesuch as a mouse. Other input devices are possible such as a microphone,joystick, pen, game pad, scanner, digital camera, video camera, and thelike. The data storage devices 1040 may include any type ofcomputer-readable media that can store data accessible by the computer1000, such as magnetic hard and floppy disk drives, optical disk drives,magnetic cassettes, tape drives, flash memory cards, digital video disks(DVDs), Bernoulli cartridges, RAMs, ROMs, smart cards, etc. Indeed, anymedium for storing or transmitting computer-readable instructions anddata may be employed, including a connection port to or node on anetwork such as a local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN) orthe Internet (not shown in FIG. 6).

Aspects of the system described herein may be practiced in a variety ofother computing environments. For example, referring to FIG. 7, adistributed computing environment with a web interface includes one ormore user computers 2020 in a system 2000 are shown, each of whichincludes a browser program module 2040 that permits the computer toaccess and exchange data with the Internet 2060, including web siteswithin the World Wide Web portion of the Internet. The user computersmay be substantially similar to the computer described above withrespect to FIG. 6. User computers may include other program modules suchas an operating system, one or more application programs (e.g., wordprocessing or spread sheet applications), and the like. The computersmay be general-purpose devices that can be programmed to run varioustypes of applications, or they may be single-purpose devices optimizedor limited to a particular function or class of functions. Moreimportantly, while shown with web browsers, any application program forproviding a graphical user interface to users may be employed, asdescribed in detail below; the use of a web browser and web interfaceare only used as a familiar example here.

At least one server computer 2080, coupled to the Internet or World WideWeb (“Web”) 2060, performs much or all of the functions for receiving,routing and storing of electronic messages, such as web pages, audiosignals, and electronic images. While the Internet is shown, a privatenetwork, such as an intranet may indeed be preferred in someapplications. The network may have a client-server architecture, inwhich a computer is dedicated to serving other client computers, or itmay have other architectures such as a peer-to-peer, in which one ormore computers serve simultaneously as servers and clients. A database2100 or databases, coupled to the server computer(s), stores much of theweb pages and content exchanged between the user computers. The servercomputer(s), including the database(s), may employ security measures toinhibit malicious attacks on the system, and to preserve integrity ofthe messages and data stored therein (e.g., firewall systems, securesocket layers (SSL), password protection schemes, encryption, and thelike).

The server computer 2080 may include a server engine 2120, a web pagemanagement component 2140, a content management component 2160 and adatabase management component 2180. The server engine performs basicprocessing and operating system level tasks. The web page managementcomponent handles creation and display or routing of web pages. Usersmay access the server computer by means of a URL associated therewith.The content management component handles most of the functions in theembodiments described herein. The database management component includesstorage and retrieval tasks with respect to the database, queries to thedatabase, and storage of data.

In general, the detailed description of embodiments of the invention isnot intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the preciseform disclosed above. While specific embodiments of, and examples for,the invention are described above for illustrative purposes, variousequivalent modifications are possible within the scope of the invention,as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize. For example, whileprocesses or blocks are presented in a given order, alternativeembodiments may perform routines having steps, or employ systems havingblocks, in a different order, and some processes or blocks may bedeleted, moved, added, subdivided, combined, and/or modified. Each ofthese processes or blocks may be implemented in a variety of differentways. Also, while processes or blocks are at times shown as beingperformed in series, these processes or blocks may instead be performedin parallel, or may be performed at different times.

Aspects of the invention may be stored or distributed oncomputer-readable media, including magnetically or optically readablecomputer discs, hard-wired or preprogrammed chips (e.g., EEPROMsemiconductor chips), nanotechnology memory, biological memory, or otherdata storage media. Alternatively, computer implemented instructions,data structures, screen displays, and other data under aspects of theinvention may be distributed over the Internet or over other networks(including wireless networks), on a propagated signal on a propagationmedium (e.g., an electromagnetic wave(s), a sound wave, etc.) over aperiod of time, or they may be provided on any analog or digital network(packet switched, circuit switched, or other scheme). Those skilled inthe relevant art will recognize that portions of the invention reside ona server computer, while corresponding portions reside on a clientcomputer such as a mobile or portable device, and thus, while certainhardware platforms are described herein, aspects of the invention areequally applicable to nodes on a network.

The teachings of the invention provided herein can be applied to othersystems, not necessarily the system described herein. The elements andacts of the various embodiments described herein can be combined toprovide further embodiments.

Any patents, applications and other references, including any that maybe listed in accompanying filing papers, are incorporated herein byreference. Aspects of the invention can be modified, if necessary, toemploy the systems, functions, and concepts of the various referencesdescribed above to provide yet further embodiments of the invention.

These and other changes can be made to the invention in light of theabove Detailed Description. While the above description details certainembodiments of the invention and describes the best mode contemplated,no matter how detailed the above appears in text, the invention can bepracticed in many ways. Details of the invention may vary considerablyin its implementation details, while still being encompassed by theinvention disclosed herein. As noted above, particular terminology usedwhen describing certain features or aspects of the invention should notbe taken to imply that the terminology is being redefined herein to berestricted to any specific characteristics, features, or aspects of theinvention with which that terminology is associated. In general, theterms used in the following claims should not be construed to limit theinvention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification,unless the above Detailed Description section explicitly defines suchterms. Accordingly, the actual scope of the invention encompasses notonly the disclosed embodiments, but also all equivalent ways ofpracticing or implementing the invention.

I/we claim:
 1. A mining shovel bucket comprising: a first side wall; a second side wall opposite the first side wall; an upper wall portion; a first in-cheek sensor positioned on the first side wall and facing towards the second side wall; a second in-cheek sensor positioned on the second side wall and facing towards the first side wall; at least one down-looking sensor positioned on the upper wall portion and facing an interior of the mining shovel bucket; and a control enclosure mounted on the mining shovel bucket, wherein the control enclosure houses a signal processing system configured to receive and process signals transmitted by the first in-cheek sensor, the second in-cheek sensor, and the at least one down-looking sensor.
 2. The mining shovel bucket of claim 1, wherein the bucket comprise a first down-looking sensor positioned in a forward portion of the upper wall portion and a second down-looking sensor positioned in an aft portion of the upper wall portion.
 3. The mining shovel bucket of claim 1, wherein the first in-cheek sensor, the second in-cheek sensor, and the at least one down-looking sensor are configured to collect data related to the chemical composition of material contained within the bucket.
 4. The mining shovel bucket of claim 1, wherein the control enclosure further houses a power supply for the first in-cheek sensor, the second in-cheek sensor, the at least one down-looking sensor, and the signal processing system.
 5. The mining shovel bucket of claim 1, wherein the control enclosure further houses a communications system configured to transmit information generated by the signal processing system to a location remote from the mining shovel bucket.
 6. The mining shovel bucket of claim 1, wherein the first in-cheek sensor and the second in-cheek sensor are the same type of sensor, and the at least one down-looking sensor is a different type of sensor from the first in-cheek sensor and the second in-cheek sensor.
 7. A method of classifying and sorting mining material comprising: sensing mining material loaded in a mining shovel bucket using at least one in-cheek sensor mounted on a side wall of the mining shovel bucket and/or at least one down-looking sensor mounted on a top wall portion of the mining shovel bucket; identifying the composition of the mining material using data gathered from sensing the mining material; and depositing the mining material in a specific location based on the composition of the mining material.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein identifying the composition of the mining material comprises: transmitting the data to an analogue to digital signal converter to convert the data to a digital signal; performing Fourier Analysis on the digital signal to generate arbitrary power spectra data; comparing the arbitrary power spectra data to known power spectra to identify pattern matching between the arbitrary power spectra and known power spectra; and identifying the composition of the mineral material when a sufficient pattern match is identified between the arbitrary power spectra and a known power spectra associated with a known material.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the arbitrary power spectra is of amplitude/frequency or amplitude/wavelength.
 10. The method of claim 7, wherein identifying the composition of the mining material takes place at location remote from the mining shovel bucket, and wherein an instruction is sent to a mining shovel operator from the remote location after the mining material has been identified instructing the mining shovel operator where to deposit the mining material.
 11. A system for classifying and sorting mining material comprising: a mining shovel comprising a chassis and a mining shovel bucket, wherein the mining shovel bucket comprises: a first sensor disposed on an interior portion of the mining shovel bucket; and a second sensor disposed on an interior portion of the mining shovel bucket; an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system located remote from the mining shovel, the ERP system being configured to receive data signals from the first sensor and the second sensor and analyze the data signals to identify the composition of the mining material loaded within the mining shovel bucket; and a fleet management system located remote from the mining shovel and the ERP system, the fleet management system being configured to receive composition information from the ERP system and transmit instructions to the mining shovel regarding where to deposit mining material loaded in the mining shovel bucket based on the composition information.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the ERP system receives data signals from the first sensor and the at second sensor over a wireless network.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein the ERP system and the fleet management system communicate over a mining operators network.
 14. The system of claim 11, further comprising a local display located within the chassis of the mining shovel, and wherein instructions from the fleet management system to the mining shovel are displayed on the local display.
 15. The system of claim 11, further comprising a haul truck, and wherein the fleet management system transmits instructions to the haul truck regarding where to deposit mining material when the mining shovel is instructed to deposit mining material in the haul truck.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the haul truck includes a local display, and the instructions from the fleet management system to the haul truck and displayed on the local display.
 17. The system of claim 11, wherein the first sensor is an in-cheek sensor disposed on a side wall of the mining shovel bucket.
 18. The system of claim 11, wherein the second sensor is a down-looking sensor disposed on a top wall portion of the mining shovel bucket. 